The NBA Finals are here and it is looking to be an excellent series between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. The two sides have a history together, having faced off in the lockout-shortened 1999 season.
History
Let’s dive into some history between the two Finals teams.
The 1998-99 season was 50 games because of the strike, which resulted in the salary cap system we have today. The Knicks came into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and the Spurs were the No. 1 seed. Neither team faced each other in the regular
season.
San Antonio had two No. 1 picks in David Robinson and Tim Duncan, with a strong supporting cast of Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott, and vets in Mario Elie and Steve Kerr.
The Knicks, meanwhile, had two No. 1 picks of their own in Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson and the No. 2 pick in Marcus Camby. The main scorers for the teams were Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell. Rick Brunson was on the team as well, but he barely played in the Finals.
The first three contests were the “Who can stop Tim Duncan?” games. It sure wasn’t Chris Dudley, who was serviceable as the backup to Ewing but he was not starting material.
In the first two games in which Dudley started, Duncan scored 33 and 25 points. The Spurs won the first two games. In Game 3, Marcus Camby, in his first season with the Knicks, faced Duncan and only scored 20.
Kurt Thomas and Chris Dudley split the bench big minutes and while neither scored much, they both crashed glass to the tune of 14 combined rebounds. The Knicks won Game 3. Game 4 went the Spurs way, but Game 5 was the deciding game.
In a win-or-go-home scenario with the Spurs up 3-1, the Knicks responded with the closest game in the series, but a Latrell Sprewell fadeaway over Duncan and Robinson did not go at the buzzer.
Current teams and matchups
De’Aaron Fox vs. Jalen Brunson
Head-to-head in the regular season and NBA Cup Finals, these two have faced off 17 times. Brunson has a win over Fox in the NBA Cup Finals this season.
However, Fox has the better overall stats with more points, assists, steals and blocks. However, in these playoffs, Brunson is scoring 26.9 points per game. So it will be more about how much help that Brunson can get to propel the team to wins on top of Brunson’s dominant scoring in the playoffs.
Karl Anthony Towns vs. Victor Wembanyama
Head-to-head in the seven games played, KAT has five wins to Wemby’s two.
The rebound matchup will be key not only on defense but also on offense and in fast-break and second-chance points. Mikal Bridges is second in the playoffs in fastbreak points and Wemby and KAT are third and fourth in the playoffs with extra chance points.
Defensively, it isn’t really a matchup, given Wemby’s 3.5 blocks per game, which leads in the playoffs. So, it will be up to KAT and the rest of the Knicks shooters to take Wemby out of the paint to try and stop the inside dominance defensively.
X-Factor Matchups
Ideally you would go with a wing who is the third best player on the team, but I am going to go in a different direction. Championship experience.
The Knicks have several players who are either NBA champions or have reached the Finals. OG Anunoby is a champion. However, he was injured for those playoffs, but he watched his team go up against the Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Bridges and Jordan Clarkson have gone to the Finals before in the 2021 and 2018 seasons, respectively. Neither was able to climb the mountaintop, however.
Meanwhile, the Spurs have two players with a ring to their name in Luke Kornet and Harrison Barnes. The latter was part of the early dynasty Warriors while Kornet was the main backup big in the 2024 season for the Celtics. Lastly, they have Kelly Olynyk, who reached the NBA Finals in 2020 with the Heat against the Lakers.
Look to these players to either contribute in big moments or offer sage advice to their younger teammates as the series goes ones.
The 2026 NBA Finals will be begin on June 3, with ABC as the exclusive broadcaster.
- Game 1: New York vs. San Antonio | Wednesday, June 3
- Game 2: New York vs. San Antonio | Friday, June 5
- Game 3: San Antonio vs. New York | Monday, June 8
- Game 4: San Antonio vs. New York | Wednesday, June 10
- Game 5: New York vs. San Antonio | Saturday, June 13*
- Game 6: San Antonio vs. New York | Tuesday, June 16*
- Game 7: New York vs. San Antonio | Friday, June 19*
My Prediction
Knicks in 6 games.
If you want to discuss anything, you can do so below. I will update this thread as the NBA Finals continue. In the meantime, you can share your thoughts on the NBA Finals in the comments below.
When I am not posting ridiculous trades on here you can find me talking about Nintendo, LGBT content, music, and the Lakers on my Twitter. You can follow Alexis on Twitter at @BeautifulShy_RS and on BlueSky at @msshyskye.bsky.social.
